State firms hampered by complex bureaucracy

State firms hampered by complex bureaucracy

SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): State-owned enterprises will have
difficulty facing free market competition due to sluggish
performance caused by a complicated bureaucratic system, a
prominent businessman said here Saturday.

"Complicated bureaucracy affects the performance of state
enterprises, particularly in making decisions," Tanri Abeng, the
president of Bakrie Group, told a seminar on management's
challenges in Indonesia in the era of globalization.

Besides Tanri, the seminar, which was held by the Semarang-
based Diponegoro University, also presented university economists
Soewito and Augusty Fernand as speakers.

Tanri said that many managers of state enterprises complain
about the structural obstacles that hamper their performances.

"We should not blame the state enterprises themselves because
their assignment to monopolize certain sectors has caused some of
them to operate inefficiently," he said.

Tanri, who is also president of Multi Bintang, a leading
brewery, said that the introduction of cooperation systems, such
as build, operate and own and build, operate and transfer will
help increase the ability of state enterprises to face though
competition. (har/04)